Dobrinishte 1988, Razlog area: 20 tetrobols of Histiaea.Dolna Ribnitsa 1988, Petrich area - 19+ Roman Imperial and provincial bronzes and 2 denarii of Trajan.CH 6.88 - Gotse Delchev area 1977 (11 Republican denarii),.Bogolin 1989 (285+ Celtic imitations of type ‘Strymon head/trident’).Gotse Delchev area 1995 (48 tetradrachms – 25 Athens New style and 23 Thasos).Hotovo 1975 (105 Macedonian bronzes: 1 Philip II and 104 Alexander III).Skrebatno II 1989 (192 Thasos: 13 drachms and 166 trihemiobols).IGCH 720 – Skrebatno I 1962 (197 Thasos: 3 drachms and 194 trihemiobols).First time publication and discussion of few important Greek / Hellenistic hoards as: They had a combined estimated value of about $20 million.Ĭredits: Images courtesy of Numismatic Guaranty Corporation.A comprehensive catalogue of 1,228 ancient coins from the Blagoevgrad Museum collection in Southwestern Bulgaria (region Pirin Macedonia), arranged according to the S N G principles. Some dated back to 5,000 BC and included figurines, vessels and jewelry.

The gold coin was one of 29 Hellenic antiquities returned to Greece during the ceremony. Of the other two, one is in the British Museum on loan from a private collector and the other is in the Deutsche Bundesbank collection. While nearly 100 Ides of March silver coins are known to still exist, this is only the third example known to be struck in gold. “It was made in 42 BC, two years after the famous assassination, and is one of the most important and valuable coins of the ancient world,” explained Salzberg in 2020. The cap’s image was a symbolic statement that Rome was liberated after the assassination of the tyrant dictator. The front of the coin features a portrait of Marcus Junius Brutus, one of Caesar’s assassins, and the other side dramatically depicts two daggers and the marking “EID MAR.” The initials represent the Latin abbreviation for the Ides of March, which corresponds to March 15 on the calendar and is the date Caesar was assassinated.īetween the two daggers is a “pileus” - a cap of liberty traditionally given to Roman slaves when they were freed. Many of us believed it would sell for millions, and it did.” “It’s a masterpiece of artistry and rarity, still in mint condition after 2,000 years, and only the third known example made in gold. “I’m not surprised it set a world record as the most valuable ancient coin ever sold,” said Salzberg at the time. Experts told The New York Times that the coin was likely found about a decade ago, but not reported to Greek authorities as required by law.īack in 2020, numismatic expert Mark Salzberg, chairman of the Sarasota, FL-based Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, said he anticipated the coin's strong performance at auction. But New York authorities claim that it has been looted from a field near where, more than 2,000 years ago, an army loyal to Caesar's assassins camped during the struggle for control of Rome. This previously unrecorded coin - one of only three known to exist - was reportedly closely held in a private European collection. Greek officials reclaimed the coin last Tuesday during an official ceremony at the country's consulate in New York City. Greece's Antiquities Law states that ancient works, including coins, are the property of the state.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office confiscated the ill-gotten coin from an unnamed US billionaire, who bought it in good faith, but the coin should have never been offered at auction. Explore the Royal Collection, one of the largest and most important art collections in the world, and one of the last great European royal collections to. An ultra-rare “Ides of March” gold coin that darkly commemorated the assassination of Roman dictator Julius Caesar in 44 BC - and broke an auction record in 2020 when it fetched $4.2 million - has been returned to Greece by New York authorities.

Julius caesar coin front and back